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Mikhail Nosov: Russian Centers Help Preserve the Russian Language and Culture

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Mikhail Nosov: Russian Centers Help Preserve the Russian Language and Culture


21.08.2012

A center of the Russkiy Mir Foundation opened in Sevastopol on August 16 at Lazarev Marine Library. We offer to our readers an interview with Mikhail Nosov, Russkiy Mir Foundation’s PR Director in charge of relations with NGOs. He elaborates upon the Foundation’s activities in Ukraine and the world over.

– What does the Russkiy Mir Foundation do?

– The main sphere of activity is grant projects that serve the cause of Russian language and culture development. The second area is Russian Centers and Russkiy Mir Cabinets. These are venues at national universities and libraries, premises which the Russkiy Mir Foundation refurbishes at its own expense, supplying furniture, computer equipment, plasma panels and video projectors there, connects them to satellite television, internet, and employs a methodologist who directs such a Cabinet. Russkiy Mir Cabinets are provided with Russian books, textbooks, fiction, and classical Russian films. The Center targets the widest circle of users, teachers of Russian, students and everyone learning Russian. Russkiy Mir Cabinets are a somewhat smaller format; they are organized at schools and colleges, but with the same purpose.

Cooperation with Sevastopol commenced in 2008 and two years ago a Russkiy Mir Cabinet was opened at the Lazarev Library, where a number of events and conferences devoted to the history of Russia and Sevastopol were held. Overall there are ten Russian Centers in Ukraine: in Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kiev, Lugansk, Nikolaev, Rovno, Sevastopol, Simferopol, Kharkov and Herson.

– What problems of Russian language development did you discuss in Sevastopol?

– I visit Sevastopol 4-5 times a year as I attend roundtables, conferences and festivals. Now a lot is being said about the passing of the law “On fundamentals of the national language policy.” The recent adoption of this law is very important for the development of Russian in Ukraine and for Ukrainian-Russian relations. In Russia this law is assessed as a positive step and the intention of Ukrainian politicians to establish firm friendly relations with Russia. This is a weighty argument to strengthen the relationship that once was strained.

– How are the Foundation’s goals accomplished in other regions of this country and in other countries?

– If you take Eastern Europe, Russian is in demand there. However much Poland tries to establish its affiliation with the West, it lies halfway between Russia and Western Europe. That is, objectively Poland is part of the trade route whereby cooperation between Russia and Europe is conducted. The Polish realize that and many of them are willing to learn Russian because this allows them to establish business contacts with Russians, Ukrainians and people of Belarus.

In total there are more than 75 Russian Centers in the world. These centers based on libraries or universities are used to teach Russian and employ experts in Russian studies. At such centers people may familiarize themselves with Russian periodicals, textbooks and teaching aids (we constantly replenish their collections), or watch Russian TV channels. Access is free and so the centers can be visited by both students and teachers from other tertiary education institutions. Russian expats may use them for celebrating memory dates, such as Russian national holidays, Pre-Lent Week, New Year, or children’s events. Besides performing the educational function, the Russkiy Mir centers are also a seat of culture and a venue for communication.

If there is a need to open a Russian-learning class at some university, the Russkiy Mir Foundation employs at its own expense a skilled teacher – normally from among the natives of Russia and CIS states or local citizens with respective linguistic training.

– Why is the learning of Russian topical in far-off countries, such as African states or Australia?

– To begin with, there are big Russian expat communities there; secondly, Russian ranks fifth in the world in terms of global penetration next to Chinese, Hindi, English and Spanish. Russian is the UN official language. With the development of foreign political activities of Russia many people would like to learn Russian for doing business in Russia or with Russia. Many nations send their students to Russia and upon their return they teach Russian in their homeland at the centers opened by the Russkiy Mir Foundation.

– How will further collaboration with Sevastopol be built?

– We pin great hopes on the Russian Center that has been opened at the Lazarev Library. I believe this will raise the level of the Foundation’s work in Sevastopol. The Russian Center is a solid venue for holding cultural events with compatriots. We have numerous examples of successful cooperation with the Winning Together and Balaklava Vacations festivals. The Foundation explores Russian as both a cultural and historical concept, for our nations are not only united by the language, but also by the common historical memory which should be cherished and strengthened.

– This year the Foundation became a partner of the Balaklava Vacations festival. How does the festival’s idea correlate with the Foundation’s aims?

– This is an international event uniting our Slavic nations. We decided to support the festival because, notwithstanding the political trends and borders drawn by politicians on the map, Russian remains dominant in post-Soviet space as the language of international communication.

/ Sevastopolskaya Gazeta /

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